Baby Face (film) - Plot

Plot

Lily Powers (Barbara Stanwyck) works for her father in a speakeasy during Prohibition in Erie, Pennsylvania. Her life has been miserable; since the age of 14, her father (Robert Barrat) has had her sleep with many of his customers. The only man she trusts, a cobbler who admires Friedrich Nietzsche, tells her that she should start afresh in a new city and use men to get what she wants.

When Lily's father is killed in a still explosion, she sheds no tears for him. She and her African American co-worker/friend Chico (Theresa Harris) hop on a freight train out of town, but are discovered by a railroad worker, who threatens to have them thrown in jail. She says, "Wait ... can't we talk this over?" It is strongly implied that she has sex with him during a fadeout to get him to change his mind.

In New York City, Lily gets a job at the Gotham Trust, even though she has no office experience. The personnel man asks Lily, "Have you had any experience?", to which Lily replies, "Plenty!" She then entices him into his absent boss's office to demonstrate. Her progress, sleeping her way to the top, is shown in a recurring visual metaphor of the movie camera panning ever upward along the edifice of the Gotham Trust's skyscraper, accompanied by the saxophone wail of St. Louis Blues. Her second conquest is Jimmy McCoy Jr. (John Wayne), who recommends her for promotion to her next victim, Brody (Douglass Dumbrille).

Lily eventually ensnares Ned Stevens (Donald Cook), a rising young executive engaged to Ann Carter (Margaret Lindsay), the daughter of First Vice President J.R. Carter (Henry Kolker). She schemes to have Ann walk in on the two locked in an embrace. When J.R. attempts to get Lily to leave Ned alone, she soon adds the older man to her list of admirers. J.R. installs her in a lavish apartment, with Chico along as a maid. However, when Ned finds her there with his future father-in-law, he first shoots the older man, then himself.

Courtland Trenholm (George Brent), the playboy grandson of the company's founder, is elected bank president to deal with the resulting public scandal. He rebuffs Lily's attempt to extort $15,000 from the firm in return for withholding her diary from the press. He only offers her a job in the firm's Paris office, where she can do no harm. To maintain her appearance as a "victim of circumstance", she has little choice but to accept. Some time later, when Courtland goes to Paris on business, he is surprised and impressed to find her not only still working there, but also promoted to head of the travel bureau. He soon falls under her spell and marries her.

Although he is not responsible, Courtland is indicted when the bank fails due to mismanagement. He begs Lily to return all the gifts he showered on her, so he can finance his defense, but Lily decides to keep them and flee to Europe. However, she changes her mind when she realizes that she has finally found a man she can love. When she returns, she discovers that her husband has shot himself. On the ride to the hospital, the attendant assures her that Courtland has a good chance of survival. Courtland opens his eyes, sees Lily, and smiles at her as the movie ends.